By Adedapo Adesanya

The presidency has said the newly assented insurance reform act would be instrumental to achieving Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy goal.

Recall that earlier this week, President Bola Tinubu signed into law the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Bill 2025, a move that has welcomed by insurance stakeholders across the country.

According to a statement by Mr Tinubu’s spokesman, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the legislation now known as the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, will strengthen Nigeria’s financial sector and accelerate the nation’s march toward a $1 trillion economy.

The presidency said the Act repealed and consolidated several outdated insurance laws into a single, modern legal framework.

“The new Act provides for comprehensive regulation and supervision of all insurance and reinsurance businesses operating within Nigeria,” Mr Onanuga said.

“The NIIRA Act 2025 ushers in a new era of transparency, innovation, and global competitiveness for the insurance industry. It aligns with the Federal Government’s vision of achieving a $1 trillion economy,” he added.

The presidential spokesman said the new law introduced measures such as: Stringent capital requirements to ensure the financial soundness of operators; Enforcement of compulsory insurance policies to enhance consumer protection; Digitisation of the insurance market to improve access and efficiency; Zero tolerance for delays in claims settlement; Creation of dedicated policyholder protection funds, especially in cases of insolvency; and Expanded participation in regional insurance schemes, including the ECOWAS Brown Card System.

Mr Onanuga said the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has been mandated to administer and implement the provisions of the NIIRA 2025 to unlock the industry’s full potential and significantly improve insurance penetration across the country.

The reform introduced by the new law is expected to catalyse new investments, boost consumer confidence, and position Nigeria as a leading insurance hub in Africa, the presidency stated.

Nigeria has set its sight to become a $1 trillion economy by 2030. This goal, unveiled by the administration of President Tinubu, will see coordinating financial and economic bodies consolidate on efforts. For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with its ongoing recapitalisation programme for banks is playing its part.

Analysts, however, noted that the recent rebasing of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) which puts the economy at less than $400 billion, may impact the goal.

By Adedapo Adesanya

For the fourth consecutive trading session, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange remained in the red territory after it further depreciated by 0.39 per cent on Thursday, August 7.

This brought down the market capitalisation of the trading platform by N8.33 billion during the session to N2.143 trillion from the N2.152 trillion it ended a day earlier, and contracted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 14.24 points to 3,660.29 points, in contrast to the 3,674.53 points it finished at midweek.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc crashed by 75 Kobo on Thursday to close at N54.00 per unit versus Wednesday’s N54.75 per unit, NASD Plc slumped by 36 Kobo to N30.26 per share from N30.50 per share, Food Concepts Plc lost  22 Kobo to end at N3.21 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.43 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc plunged by 21 Kobo to N69.61 per share from N69.82 per share.

On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc added N1.50 to finish at N2.40 per unit versus N238.50 per unit, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc advanced by 6 Kobo to N3.08 per share from N3.02 per share, UBN Property Plc grew by 5 Kobo to N2.00 per unit from N1.95 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 4 Kobo to close at 39 Kobo per share versus 35 Kobo per share.

At the session, the volume of securities shrank by 93.1 per cent to 1.6 million units from 22.9 million units, the number of deals decreased by 29.8 per cent to 40 deals from 57 deals, while the value of securities increased by 89.1 per cent to N54.9 million from N29.1 million.

IGI Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units sold for N362.0 million, trailed by Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.8 million, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units valued at N4.2 billion.

Okitipupa Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 154.4 million units transacted for N5.0 billion, followed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units traded for N4.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 43.7 million units valued at N1.9 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was not good day for the Naira in the black market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday. August 7, as its value significantly weakened against the US Dollar at the close of business.

Data obtained by Business Post from forex traders showed that the local currency crashed against the greenback yesterday by N22, the highest single-day loss in a while, to sell for N1,565/$1 compared with the N1,543/$1 it was exchanged on Wednesday.

This significant loss was largely blamed on speculators, who bet that the customers may begin to demand for FX later this month and next month for end of the year travels and school fees payment.

However, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, which is controlled by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Naira slightly closed stronger against the Dollar yesterday by 17 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to quote at N1,534.34/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,534.51/$1.

Also in the official market, the Nigerian currency lost N15.16 against the Pound Sterling during the trading day to trade at N2,059.03/£1 versus N2,043.87/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N4.39 to finish at N1,787.56/€1, in contrast to the N1,783.17/€1 it was traded at midweek session.

Market analysts and traders have maintained that the Naira will appreciate further given persistent FX injections by the central bank backed by flows to unofficial currency market, which has helped to stabilised the Naira, and reduce exchange rates gap to minimal level that discourage speculative transactions.

“We expect the FX market to continue to trade within the $1,500 to $1,600 band, supported by sustained reserve accretion and positive sentiment from recent macroeconomic revisions. However, subdued FX inflows could limit further Naira gains, keeping market dynamics sensitive to shifts in investor participation,” analysts at Coronation Merchant Bank noted earlier this week.

As for the digital currency market, a win-like situation for Ripple (XRP) lifted the mood of investors as the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2020 lawsuit against Ripple Labs was officially declared over.

This came after the two parties informed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that they were voluntarily dismissing their respective appeals of a 2023 ruling in the case.

The SEC filed an appeal in 2024 after a district judge’s ruling in 2023 said that Ripple was making XRP available to retail traders through exchanges, while Ripple cross-appealed to maintain its arguments in the case.

The development saw XRP record a 10.9 per cent appreciation to close at $3.31, as Dogecoin (DOGE) went up by 7.4 per cent to $0.2203, and Cardano (ADA) added 6.9 per cent to trade at $0.7892.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) gained 5.9 per cent to close at $3,904.72, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 3.6 per cent to $174.50, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 2.4 per cent to $785.60, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.8 per cent to $116,584.53.

However, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.1 per cent to end at $119.86, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.